Financial News: BRAZIL: House Speaker Says He Is Working To

BRAZIL: House Speaker Says He Is Working To Pass A Pension Reform This Year

11/27/2017 - 19:34:00 (RTTNews)

(RTTNews) - The Brazilian House of Representatives speaker, Rodrigo Maia, said that pro-government lawmakers want to pass the pension reform this year.

"We're working on that. Let's start counting the votes," he said during an event hosted by a weekly magazine. "If we do not work for the approval of the reform, we will be delivering a very uncertain future."

Asked during a press conference on the support of allies to the reform bill, Maia was unable to gauge how far the government is from the 308 votes required to approve the new retirement rules.

"I'm going to start consulting the parties for the leaders to consult their counterparts and try to vote the matter," he said.

The House speaker acknowledged that the voting deadline is way too tight.

"That's not a simple schedule to work on, but that's what we have," he said.

Maia also said that he intends to move ahead with a draft bill that he believes has conditions to be approved, despite the Ministry of Finance's resistance to new changes.